Wells Fargo Securities downgraded Apple (AAPL) on Thursday, saying the company’s gross profit margin will come under pressure with the release of its next smartphone, likely named the iPhone 6, as wireless service providers pull back on subsidizing the retail cost of cellphones. Analyst Maynard Um downgraded Apple to market perform from outperform, although he said in a research report that 2014 will be “highlighted by new products (iPhone 6,
Predictions for the New Year fall into two categories: those that play it safe and those that swing for the fence. I prefer the risk takers. Anybody can go with the pack and predict that Apple (AAPL) will come out with a big-screen iPhone or make vague predictions on developing trends. It takes guts to make predictions that dare to be different and will be proved right or wrong by year’s end. What follows are some big predictions for tech companies in the New Year. Many are outlandish, a few are practical, but all are binary — they’re on the money or not by the end of 2014. 1. General Motors will buy Tesla. Veteran trader Yra Harris of Praxis Trading told CNBC that General Motors (GM) will buy luxury electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA) in 2014. “It’s such a perfect fit,” he said. “Imagine those high (end) luxury vehicles pulling people…
Initial pre-orders of Apple iPhones on China Mobile appear underwhelming, according to one report out Monday. Apple investors cheered the company’s long-awaited distribution deal with China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless carrier, after it was announced Dec. 22. But early reports show China Mobile iPhone orders lagging what other carriers experienced when they began selling Apple ‘s (AAPL) latest smartphone, Wedge Partners analyst Jun Zhang said. “We think China Mobile ‘s (CHL) pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 5S/5C reached about 100K (with contract) in the first two days since pre-orders started, compared with 120K pre-orders from China Unicom (CHU) and 150K pre-orders from China Telecom (CHA) back in September,” he wrote. “Unlocked iPhone 5S pre-orders added another 150K in the first day, compared to 400-500K pre-orders when the unlocked iPhone 5S initially launched in China in September.” The addition of China Mobile as an iPhone distributor has stalled sales of the device with…